Agriculture (farming) is the most important innovation in history, because a civilization was not possible without a steady, immobile food source. The period of time in which agriculture and domestication of animals became world-wide was known as the Neolithic Revolution.

Agriculture started in the Middle East. The development of agriculture may have been caused by a need for reliable food during a population explosion after the ice age. However, rapid population growth is a result of food excess, which threatens this theory. It is possible that game was simply becoming more scarce, and likely that the discovery of agriculture was not intentional.

Since there was an excess of food, populations rose, and groups of people no longer had to move around. Many people no longer had to worry about feeding themselves, either, and could become specialists and artisans.